Chico >> Chico police officers saw a calm St. Patrick's Day for a second year in a row.

The old idea of what St. Patrick's Day in Chico looks like has really changed, said Chico police Lt. Mike O'Brien. In previous years, officers would be out from 5 a.m., if not earlier, dealing with people who had been partying all night and were waiting to get back into the bars early on the morning of the holiday.

"It's a far cry from what it used to be," he said.

The event has gone from being very problematic, to much more manageable, which is "definitely the case" this time, O'Brien said.

Last year, officers made 26 arrests between 2 p.m. March 17 and 6 a.m. March 18. Police made 49 arrests during a 12-hour shift on St. Patrick's Day in 2012 and in 2011, there were 51 arrests. In March 17, 2010, there were 58.

On Monday, Chico police had an additional patrol team working from 12 p.m. until 10 p.m. in case revelry did erupt.

Officers with the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and officers with the Avoid the 8 were also out on St. Patrick's Day.

As of 4 p.m., Chico police saw the normal amount of calls for service as it typically sees during the day.

There's been very little activity, especially related to St. Patrick's Day, O'Brien said.

The community and the Chico Police Department has made strides to "mitigate much of the silliness" that used to occur, he said. Police and the community have worked proactively to make St. Patrick's Day a non-event.

If it remains that way, "we'll consider this a success," O'Brien said.

As the evening approached, downtown Chico stayed relatively quiet. People clad in green shuffled into bars and restaurants, but the holiday celebration was not unruly.

Chico police Lt. Jennifer Gonzales said officers who were scheduled to have training instead had to work the holiday.

"We took away a training shift and supplemented special event coverage," she said.

By rearranging the training schedules, police have been able to keep costs down and have officers on the street for the holiday.

"It's unfortunate that officers lost those training days," Gonzales said. "But, it's been calm, which is good. People are still having fun and remaining safe."